There are many reasons why games are an effective tool for innovation.

Games are useful tools to start conversations and they are particularly effective at illustrating the trade-offs associated with making choices. They also encourage players to understand the perspectives of other players, they can present data, ideas, and trends in new and intuitive ways, and they can engage new audiences.

As such, games present a real opportunity to be used for more serious purposes, pushing participants out of their comfort zone, engaging them in meaningful debates and generating new ideas.

We've been exploring the ways games can bring bold ideas to life, from researching a wide range of examples to understand how to harness their value, to developing our own digital and tabletop games.

Download, print and play our games through the following links:

• Cards for the Future: a card game exploring the future of technology and society
• Consortium: a board game about the future of the internet
• Crowdsourcing a collective intelligence manifesto: a card and board game about collective intelligence principles.
• Flourish!: a board game exploring alternative ideas for local economies
• Innovate!: a tabletop game bringing innovation policymaking to life